Machine for inserting fastenings.



F. L. MAcKENZlE. CHINE FOR INSERTING FASTENINGS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23, 1915.

Patented May 15, 1821?.

, 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

F. L. MAcKENZIE. MACHINE FOR INSERTING FASTENINGS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23,1915. 1 ,225,83? Patented May 15, 1917.

4 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

JEETTS, ASSIGNOB TO UNITED SHOE NEW JERSEY, CORPURATIGN OF NEVF MACHINE FOR INSERTING FASTENINGS.

Application filed July 23, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED L. lilAoKnnZIn, a citizen of the United States residing at Beverly, in the county of Essex and State of lvlassachusetts, have invented certain linprovemenets in Machines for Inserting Fastenings, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

The invention to be hereinafter described relates to machines for inserting fastenings, such as loose nails or the like into boots or shoes, and more particularly to the means for delivering fastening s from a source of supply to the driving ins i In this class of machines it has heretofore been proposed to supply fastenings differing in character or leng h to the driving means from ahopper having pliu'ality of chambers througha raceway provided with a plurality of grooves each adapted to guide fastenings of one character, and to move the raceway laterally to cause any one of the grooves to present a fastening to th driving point. Thus a number of fastenings oi one character could be inserted into the wor; and then, during the continued operation of the machine, a number of fastenings of another character could be inserted, or if desired, fastenings different character could be alternately driven. A machine of this type is shown and described. in the patent to l-loddu. No. 898 573, September 15, 1908.

The regularity and sequential order in which the fastenings are inserted in the work will depend to a large extent upon the proper delivery of each character O'li fastening to the d: 'ving means. and should a fastening fail to be properly driven owing to some disturbing cause, such for instance as r alforination of the fastening itself, and thus become wedged or caught at the end of guiding groove or betveen 1t and the its usual nose plate. the operative eiiiciency "the machine itseli will he largely controlled 7; the facility with which the said fastening can be removed to permit those following to proceed to the driving point.

ll? here a pivoted raceway is pro ided a plurality of guiding grooves to direct fastenings from a source suppl" Specification of Letters l atent.

Patented May 1917.

Serial No. 41,543.

driving position and is swung about the pivotal point to present one and then another ot the grooves for the delivery of fastenings to the dri'v 1g means, the delivery end of the raceway moves in the arc of a circle the center oit' which is the pivotal point of the raceway, so that the greater the radius of the circular arc, the more nearly will. the movement of the delivery end of the raceway approach a straight line and the less will be the liability cit fastenings being thrown from the end of the guiding grooves or being caught between the end of the raceway and nose plate the raceway is moved laterally.

VI! 1: 1 an nnpoi tant .ieatuie or the present invention, therefore consists in a raceway having a plurality of guiding grooves for fastenings and pivotally mounted at a point remote from its delivery end a distance greater than the distance between the deivcry end of the raceway and the part of the hopper wall nearest thereto, the raceway pivot in the illustrated construction being located at a point between the fastening receiving portions of the raceway within the exterior limits of the hopper.

The invention aims further so to locate the pivotal point of the raceway relatively to the raceway clearer wheels characteristic of machines of the type set forth in said Letters Patent as to obviate the necessity of adjusting the clearer wheels upon lateral swinging roveinent of the raceway. To this end, the present invention COlliTQRljfliillQS a construction and arrangement in which the pivotal point of the raceway is so located relatively to the clearer wheels as to 1naintain a substantially constant lateral relationship oetveen the raceway pivot and the clearer wheels every position of the raceway. A further admnh go resulting from this construction and arrzuigenient itlslight nail agitation of the raceway length wise thereof relatively to and at the location oi, the clearer w of the raceway and nose plate of the inserting mechanism and permit ready rearward movement of the raceway from the nose plate for the removal of any misplaced fastening.

Still another important feature of the invention consists in socketing the division wall of the hopper for the reception and adjustment longitudinally of the raceway of the raceway pivot.

Although the invention .is herein described as embodied in a machine of the type described in the'said Letters Patent to Goddu No. 898,573 and with particular reference to its application to double raceway mechanism of the type set forth in said Letters Patent, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention thereby since it is recognized that the invention as a whole or various features thereof may have other uses, including use in connection with machines and fastening delivering mechanisms of other types in which a. pivoted raceway is employed.

Various other features of the invention will hereinafter be described in connection with the accompanying good practical forms thereof.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation showing sulficicnt of the fastening inserting mechanism, the hopper and raceway, to make clear certain features of the present invention, some of the parts being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a part plan and section, showing more particularly the construction and mounting of the raceway;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal section showing the pivotal mounting of the raceway and its adjusting means; V

Fig. lis a detached detail looking from below, showing a portion of the hopper division wall and the removable socketed insert block in which the pivot of the raceway is movable; V

Fig. 5 is a detail view looking from below and showing the adjustable bracket arm for the raceway pivot.

The drawings show the invention in connection with a machine of the general type set forth in the Goddu Patent, No. 899,573, wherein loose nails of different cha acter are conducted from a hopper having a plurality of chambers to the driving mechanism by a racewafv having a pluralitj of grooves, but, it is to be understood that while the invention has especial advantages in connection with supplying loose nails, it may be employed for delivering other forms of fastenings.

The multi-part hopper may be of any appropriate character adapted to furnish fasthe like, for preand in the rotary tenings, such as nails or sentation to the drlving means, present instance comprises two drawings showing drums 1 and 2 secured to the shaft 3 mount ed in suitable bearings a sustained by a bracket 5 toavhich said bearings may be socured by suitable means, such as the bolts 6. In the present instance, rot: "y movement imparted to the drums 1 and 2 by means of toothed wheels 7 driven from any suitable source of power, the teeth of which wheels engage the toothed wheels 8 formed as part of or secured to said drums. Each of the drums 1 and 2 is provided with buckets or lifting blades 9, the construction being such that. as the drums are rotated the buckets or blades 9 will lift fastenings from the lower part of the hopper and drop them on the receiving portions of the raceway, as will more fully appear.

\Vhere fastenings of different character are to be supplied to the driving means, it is desirable that each drum act to deliver only one character of fastening, and to this end the hopper is provided with a dividing wall 10 to maintain the fastenin gs supplied to the raceway by one drum separate from those supplied by the other, and each portion of the hopper thus formed is provided with an opening for the supply of fastenings thereto. In the present instance, such supply openings are normally closed by doors 11 hinged to the hopper or a lug extended therefrom, as at 12, so that when desired, loose fastenings of appropriate character may be introduced.

The fastening inserting or driving mechanism may be of any desired character, such, for instance, as described in the Goddu patent hereinbefore mentioned, and only suflicient of such mechanism is herein shown as is necessary to a proper understanding of the present invention and its association therewith. Such part of the driving mechanism as herein shown, consists of the part- 13 which constitutes the usual nose plate and with relation to which the raceway delivery end is laterally movable as will presently be described.

Eetween the hopper and driving mechanism is the pivotally mounted raceway having a plural number of guiding grooves to guide the fastenings from the ho per to the driving mechanism. In order t at the fastenings as they pass along the grooves of the raceway shall have uninterrupted movement therein, the present invention contemplates that the guiding grooves for thecfastenings shall extend continuously from the receiving portions to the end of the delivery portion of the raceway. In the present instance, the raceway is formed of a center forwardly tapering block le having rearwardly extending inner side pieces 15 which, in conjunction with the side faces of the center block, provide'one wall of the guiding grooves. The opposite or outer wall of the guiding grooves is provided by the en terior side pieces 16 extending throughout the length of the raceway, said parts being connected by suitable means such as the bolts 1?. The inner side pieces 15 may be associated with the center block in any appropriate manner to provide continuity of the inner surface of the fastening groove, and in the present form of the invention the center block is provided with the inwardlyextending recesses 18, Fig. 2, into which the inturned ends 19 of the inner side pieces extend, thereby insuring proper association of the center block and inner side pieces and the desired uninterrupted inner surface of the guiding groove. Suitable ties or bolts may be inserted through the inner side pieces 153 into the block in addition to the bolt 1?, liereinbefore referred to, but these are not always necessary.

The exterior side pieces 16 are suitably spaced from the center block and inner side pieces to provide the grooves 20 which con stitute the fastening guiding grooves, and along which the fastenings move from the hopper to the fastening driving means. The portion of the raceway extending into the hopper constitutes the fasteningreceiving portion thereof, and in order that fastenings such as nails may be properly presented to the guiding ing portion of the raceway, each of the ex terior side pieces 16 is provided with a lat orally-extending table 21, Figs. 1 and 2, on which the fastenings may be dropped by the buckets or lifters 9 as the drums l and 2 rotate. To facilitate the entrance of the pointed end of the fastening or nail into the guiding grooves each of the inner and ex terior side pieces is provided with a bevel portion which, as the fastenings or nails move relativ ly to the raceway, direct the pointed ends thereof into the grooves, so that such fastenings become positioned in the grooves in single line formation and are supported by their heads resting upon the outer surfaces of the inner and exterior side pieces.

The present invention contemplates that the arc of movement of the delivered end of the raceway may approximate a straight line in order to prevent dislodgement of the fasteniugs from the delivery end of the raceway. and their being caught between the end of the raceway and the nose plate. To this end. the division wall 10 of the hopper is recessed and the pivotal point of the racewa carried rearward into the recessed portion of he division wall. In the present instance. the di vision wall it) cut away as at 23, Fig. 4. and into the recess thus provided is placed an insert block 2% provided with an elongated recess 25. l he insert block is removably held in position, and an appropriate means to this end comprises a T- shaped piate 26 having the side arms 27 progrooves in the receiv-' vided with openings 28 through which may pass suitable fastening means such as screws or the like, to engage the threaded openings 29 formed in a fixed part of the hopper. This fixed portion of the hopper is preferably provided with grooves 30 and 31 to receive the holding plate 26 with its surface flush with the top portion of the raceway when the parts are in assembled position.

Extending rea rwardly of the center block 14 of the raceway is a projection 32, through which passes the pivot 33 about which the raceway is movable. Adjustably secured to the plate 34: carried by the swinging bracket arm 35 which may be pivotally mounted at 36 to the bracket 5, is a pivot adjusting arm 37 through the end portion of which the pivot 33 extends, the construction being such that by adjustment of the pivot adjusting arm 37 in a direction longitudinally of the raceway, the pivotal point about which the raceway turns may be moved toward and from the nose plate. In the present instance the pivot adjusting arm 3'? is provided with the slots 38 through which extend the screws or clamping bolts 39 for connecting the arm 37 to the plate 34 of the bracket 35, the construction being such that by loosening the screws or bolts 39 the pivot adjusting arm 37 may be moved in a direction longitudinally of the raceway to carry the pivotal point of the raceway to various positions within the socket 25 of the insert block 24. By this means the delivery end of the raceway may be ap propriately adjusted with respect to the nose plate and should a fastening or nail become clogged or jammed at the end of the raceway, the latter can be readily moved rearwardly to permit such fastening or nail to be ejected. If desired, the pivot pin 33 may be made hollow and provided with a series of lubricating openings 40.

From the construction described it will be noted that the receiving portion of the race way extends into the hopper and the two divergent portions thereof embrace between them the recessed insert block 24. In order to prevent nails escaping from the hopper and provide close bearing relation between the exterior portion of the insert block 24 and the divergent portions of the race-way extending into the hopper, the insert block is provided with curved or rounded exterior bearing portions 41 against which are adapted to bear the straight edge portions 42 of projections 43 extending inwardly from the inner side pieces 15, the construction being such that as the pivot of the raceway is adjusted or moved to different positions in the socket 25 of the insert block 24, the rounded or curved bearing portions 41 of the insert block will continue to bear upon the straight surfaces 42 of the projections 43 thereby maintaining closed any opening that might otherwise be made by such adjustment between the raceway and hopper.

As pointed out in the Letters Patent hereinbefore mentioned, the raceway is given appropriate lateral swinging movement about its pivotal mounting by means of a rod is pivotally connected at 45 to a lug 46 secured to the lower part of the raceway near its delivery end, but as such mechanism is fully described in the Letters Patent referred to, further elucidation herein is unnecessary.

To eject fastenings or nails which fail to be properly positioned in their guiding grooves as they move downward in the receiving portion of the raceway, suitable means may be provided to eliminate such misplaced fastenings or nails, and in the present instance such means comprises a plate 47 Fig. 1, which is bifurcated to straddle each of the receiving portions of the raceway and appropriately secured to a fixed portion. of the hopper, as at 48. Likewise, each of the guiding grooves in the raceway may have associated with it a clearing wheel &9, the toothed edge portion of which is adapted to contact with the misplaced nails or fastenings and clear the raceway of obstruction, the clearer wheels being mounted on a cross shaft, the axis of which is indicated at 53 (Fig. 1). It will be observed that in the illustrated construction, to avoid the necessity of relatively ad justing the clearer wheels Q9 and the raceway to maintain the proper relationship between them as the raceway is swung about its pivot 33 for the purpose of bringing one or the other of the raceway grooves into operative position, the pivot 33 of the raceway is so located that its axis intersects the axis of the clearer wheels so that, upon swinging movement of the raceway about its pivot, there will be substantially no lateral displacement of the raceway at the points where the clearer wheels contact with nails or fastenings in the raceway. This feature is of importance in that otherwise special and inconvenient mechanism would have to be employed for insuring that upon every swinging movement of the raceway the clearer wheels were correspondingly adjusted. The described location of the axis of swinging movement of the raceway is also advantageous in that a slight nail agitating movement is thereby imparted to the raceway lengthwise of the raceway and relatively to the clearer Wheels as the raceway swings about its pivot.

As the fastenings or nails pass downward in the raceway, the heads thereof rest on the upper portions of the inner and exterior side pieces and center block and eventually pass beneath a spring plate 50 which may be adjustably secured to overlie the head portions of the fastenings or nails to maintain them depressed and in proper relation with respect to the guiding grooves.

- The bracket 5 heretofore described, may be appropriately supported from the machine frame and in the present instance of the invention it is shown as adjustably connected at 51 to an arm 52, whereby the bracket 5 may be raised or lowered, as desired, to properly adjust the raceway and its associated parts.

What is claimed is z- 1. In a machine for inserting fastenings in boots and shoes, the combination of a hopper having a plurality of chambers, a; raceway having a plurality of grooves for directing fastenings to the inserting position, and means for pivotally mounting the raceway inside the exterior limits of the hopper. V

2. In a machine for inserting fastenings in boots and shoes, the combination of a hopper having a plurality of chambers, a raceway having guiding grooves converging toward their delivery ends for directing fastenings to inserting position, and provided with a projection extending between and in a direction toward the diverging portions of said guiding grooves, and means for pivotally mounting said projection within the exterior contour of the hopper.

3. In a machine for inserting fastenings in boots and shoes, the combination of a hopper having a plurality of chambers, a raceway having guiding grooves converging toward their delivery ends for directing fastenings to inserting position and provided with a projection extending between and in a direction toward the diverging portions of said guiding grooves, and means for adjustably pivoting said projection to permit lateral swinging movement of the raceway and adjustment of the pivot in a direction longitudinally of the raceway. v

a. In a machine of the character de= scribed, the combination of a hopper having a plurality of chambers for supplying fastenings of different character, a raceway having a plurality of continuous guiding grooves for said fastenings and pivotally mounted for swinging movement to present the end of any one of said grooves in delivering position, and means permitting adjustment of said pivotal mounting in a direction longitudinally of the raceway.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a hopper having a plurality of chambers for supplying fawtenings of different character, a raceway having a plurality of continuous guiding grooves for said fastenings and pivotally mounted between its fastening-receiving and delivering portions for swinging movement to present the end of any one of said grooves in delivering position, a bracket by which ilk said pivotal mounting is carried, and means for adjusting said bracket and pivotal mounting in a direction longitudinally oi" the raceway.

6. In a machine of the character d scribed, the combination of a hopper having a plurality of chambers and a dividing wall provided with a socket, a pivoted raceway having plurality of guiding grooves for the passage of fastcnings, and means for adjusting the pivot of the raceway to diliferent positions in said socket.

7. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a hopper having a plurality of chambers supplying tenings of different character and provided with a soclreted portion, a pivoted raceway having a plurality of guiding grooves for the passage of said fastei iig s, and means for adjusting the pivot oi dil'i erent positions in said soclreted portion.

8. In a machine oi the character described, the combination of a hopper having a plurality of chambers, a socketed insert piece secured thereto, a raceway having a plurality of guiding grooves, means for piv otally mounting the raceway within said socketed insert piece, and means for adjusting the pivotal mounting to different positions in said soclreted insert piece.

9. In a machine of the character clescribed, the combination of a hopper having a plurality of chambers, a socketed insert piece secured thereto, a raceway provided with diverging receiving portions embracing the socketed insert piece to prevent the escape of fastenings from said hopper, and means for pivotally mounting the raceway within said soclreted insert piece.

10. In a machine of the character clescribed, the combination of a hopper having a plurality of chambers, a raceway having diverging receiving portions extending into said hopper, projections at the inner sides of said diverging portions, a socketed block secured to the hopper and embraced by said projection to prevent the escape of fastenings from the hopper, and means for pivotally mounting the raceway in said socketed piece.

11. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a hopper having a plurality of chambers provided wi h a division wall, a raceway provided with uninterrupted guiding grooves and having diverging portions extending into the hopper at each side of the division wall, means for pivotally mountin the raceway within the division wall of the hopper, and means be tween the diverging portions of the raceway and division wall or" the hopper to prevent the escape of fastenings and permit swing; ing movement of the raceway about its pivotal mounting.

12. In a machine of the character de- 'a division wall forn'iing a said raceway to hopper having a plurality scribed, the combination of a hopper having plurality of chambers, a soclreted insert piece secured to said division wall and provided with exterior bearing portions, and a raceway pivot-ally mounted within the socketed insert piece and having diverging raceway portions provided with projections engaging the exterior bearing portions to prevent the escape of fastenings and permit swinging movement or the raceway about its pivotal mounting.

13. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a hopper provided with a division wall forming a plurality 01 cham a raceway provided with uninterrupted guiding grooves and having diverging portions extending into the hopper at each side of the division wall, means for pivotally mounting the raceway within the division wall 01' the hopner, means for adjusting the pivot of the raceway relatively to the division wall in a direction longitudinally of the hopper, and means between the diverging portions of the raceway and division wall of the hopper to prevent the escape or iastenings and permit swinging move ment of the raceway about its pivotal mounting.

14. lln a machine of the character described, a raceway having uninterrupted guiding grooves for fastenings and comprising a tapering center block, inner side pieces secured to said block and diverging toward the receiving portion of the raceway, exterior side pieces spaced from the block and inner side pieces, and ieans for securing the parts in related position.

15. In a machine of the character .de scribed, the combination of a hopper having a plurality of chambers, a raceway having diverging portions extending into the hop per and a pivotal projection extending between said diverging portions toward the hopper, a pivot supporting arm to which said projection is pivotally connected, and means for adjusting said arm to carry the pivot in a direction longitudinally of the raceway.

16. In a machine for inserting fastenings in boots and shoes, the combination of a of chambers, a raceway having a plurality of grooves for directing fastening-s into position to be inserted, and a pivotal mounting for the raceway remote from the delivery end of the raceway a distance greater than the distance between the delivery end of the raceway and the part of the hopper wall nearest thereto.

17. In a machine for inserting fastenings in boots and shoes, the combination of a hopper having a plurality of chambers, a raceway having a plurality of grooves for directing fastenings into position to be inserted, clearer wheels associated with said raceway, and a pivotal mounting for the raceway located relatively to said clearer wheels so as substantially to eliminate lateral displacement or the raceway with relation to the clearer wheels as the raceway swings about its pivot.

18. In a machine for inserting fastenings in boots and shoes, the combination of a hopper having a plurality of chambers, a raceway having a plurality of fastening guiding grooves, clearer whe ls associated with said raceway, and a pivot for the raceway so lo-- cated that its axis intersects the axis of the clearer wheels.

19. In a machine for inserting tastenings in boots and shoes the combination of a hopper having a plurality of chambers, a raceway having a plurality of fastening guiding grooves, clearer wheels associated with said raceway, and a pivot for the raceway construoted and arranged relatively to the axis Copies of this patent may be obtained for of the clearer wheels to effect incidental nail agitating movement of the raceway lengthwise thereot relatively to the clearer wheels upon swinging movement of the raceway.

20. In a machine for inserting fastenings in boots and shoes, iastenlng delivering mechanism including a hopper for supplying previously formed fastenmgs, a raceway for said iastenings down whlch the tastenings pass toward fastening inserting position,

ery end of the raceway and the part oi? the hopper wall nearest thereto.

In testimony whereot I have signed my name to this specification.

FRED L. MAQKENZIE.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G." 

